Let the Summer Begin

Tomorrow is the first day of our summer vacation, and I get to be here for every minute of it!!! And I couldn't be more thrilled. I can't wait for a wonderful summer with the kids full of fun and adventures and just being together.

Asthma

When my sister and I were little we both had asthma problems, my sister much worse than I. It is scary when your children have a hard time breathing. We have had to take James in to the doctor a couple times due to wheezing and I am praying that he does not develop asthma. The doctor said it may be just a little bit of allergies and that's what we're hoping for.

This day he had to have two breathing treatments because he was wheezing so much. He was really scared of the breathing treatment at first and cried when the air started coming out. He would not put the mask on his face and just kept screaming. Finally I convinced him he had some bad guys in his chest and the air was sending in little buzz lightyears to fight all the bad guy and make him feel better. He kind of liked that idea and finally let us put the mask on him. :)

Just like Daddy

James has been dying to play soccer like Daddy, and like Haylie too. He finally got his chance. He started a little kickers program this month and he was ready to go!! He had a smile on his face throughout the entire practice - he was so thrilled! He was so cute to watch too - he was very good at watching exactly what the coach was doing / saying, listening well and doing exactly what the coach said to do. His mouth was always wide open with excitement at each task they were given whether it was running or kicking or balancing.

Haylie has been coaching him from home as well and can't wait until school is out so she can go watch him!

Following along:

So excited he made a goal:

Nanny even came out to watch:

Thank You Country Strong Soundtrack

Well most everyone knows I love the Country Strong soundtrack. I listen to it so much that my kids even know the words by now. Haylie belts out the words in the car as we're driving along "who needs a boyfriend, I've got my girlfriends..."

Well the other day I liked the Country Strong Soundtrack a little more! One of the boys in Haylie's class asked if she wanted to be his girlfriend and Haylie said her response was: "no. I don't need a boyfriend. I like my girlfriends." Daddy reminded her to keep that perspective until college!

I can't believe it has already started!!! - I want to discourage the "boyfriend" thing for as long as I can. Obviously it's harmless at this point and the kid probably doesn't understand what he is even asking. However, with the average age of kids having sex dropping to the low teens / tweens and in addition, living in the middle of the teenage years with Raider right now, I figure there is enough boyfriend / girlfriend stuff to last a lifetime!! I am encouraging my little princess to steer clear of it all as long as I possibly can!

Rainbow Fish

I absolutely love helping in Haylie's class and was so thankful for the opportunity to do that throughout her Kindergarten year. This picture is from one of the last days of school called Character Day, in which parents volunteer to dress up like a character in a book and read a story to the kids (7 different times as the classes rotate through).

I love reading stories and I knew right away which book I wanted to read: Rainbow Fish! It is one of my most favorite children's books and I love the message. Micah said of course I had to pick a book with a message instead of something funny or silly but oh well! :)

I wore a rainbow striped dress and a little fish hat. The best part was at the end of the story I had a basket full of jewels (like shiny scales - which I had also taped all over my dress) - I let the kids each pick one from the basket to take as a reminder to share their shine with others around them. I love the message that Rainbow Fish teaches about having a generous, selfless spirit so great!

I'm in the middle of the picture below - looking pretty silly!

Haylie was so thrilled to have me there it made me feel good. And at the end of the day the teacher asked the kids which of the 7 stories was their favorite and it was a toss-up between Rainbow Fish and SpongeBob :)

Maverick

Maverick David Stanton, born May 18, 2011. 8lbs 2oz and 20 inches of healthy baby boy:

Glasses

Pink with purple hearts on the side are the ones she chose for her new glasses. Haylie cried when she couldn't take them home from the eye doctor that day.

After a vision test at school that recommended she visit the eye doctor, we made an appointment and they determined she needed glasses. Haylie has an astigmatism in her left eye, which if not treated with corrective lenses, will become lazy due to the right eye overpowering it. Haylie loves to tell people she has to wear her glasses or her eye will be lazy. I hope she always enjoys wearing them as much as she does right now. After wearing glasses in 6th and 7th grade and hating them, I was a little sad for Haylie having to wear them too. However, it hasn't phased her one bit at this point and in fact her friends all want their own glasses now too.

Here she is at the eye doctor picking out her glasses:

Some photos of Haylie we took to celebrate her new look:

Prom

Raider hasn't really been to many of the school dances or activities throughout high school, so it was good to see him go to the Senior Prom this year. He was very handsome in his black suit and checkered tie. He went with a girl named Bri and a group of kids from school. I didn't get to take all the traditional photos since they met at someone else's house, but I did get a few of Raider by himself before he left:

Thanks to facebook, I was able to snag a few other photos of Raider and his date:

The group got a big stretch limo to take them to the dance on the delta king:

Love for Orphans Transforms

This week I headed out to Kentucky for the Christian Alliance for Orphans Conference. My good friends Jaime and Danielle went and Micah met us there after a business trip in Washington DC. I was so thankful to be at the conference this year with Micah and such great friends who share a passion for glorifying God and helping children without families.

The conference was simply amazing again this year and I felt so blessed to able to attend with thousands of others who are passionate about serving orphans as well. All of the speakers and testimonials were so inspiring; I felt motivated and filled with ideas to bring back to our Home For Good Ministries team and work.

Of all the speakers one of the things that stood out to me most was when Russell Moore said that despite our fears and hesitations about getting close and serving orphans, that "love for orphans transforms." What a true and defining statement. I don't know anyone that has gotten involved with orphan care or fostered / adopted that hasn't felt transformed by it. Caring for orphans is so very core to the heart of God that it brings you to a new place in your relationship with Him. I feel lucky and truly blessed to be a part of making a small difference in the world for "the least of these."

Headed to the conference. So excited:

Ready for the day to start!!

Watching a live taping of Dennis Rainey's Family Life Radio Show - this lady and her husband adopted 13 kids through a truly amazing story:

Show Hope:

Listening to a panel of Adoptive Mommy bloggers - so fun:

Almost time to leave :(

Headed home to see my babies:

Thanks Christian Alliance for Orphans - until next year!

Mother's Day Pity Party

So unfortunately Mother's Day pretty much sucked this year. I was trying to decide if I would even add it to our blog and forever ink it into history in our blog book, but I decided it's real and not every day is a great, fun, adventure day so it is worth including - even if it's lame.

Micah had to be out of town for Mother's Day this year for a work event and I knew that was coming months in advance and I was slowly trying to prepare myself that it wasn't a big deal. People have to miss holidays and birthdays all the time right?

So the Friday before Mother's day, Micah took the day off and we all went to the Zoo. It was a fun day but there was really no Mother's Day about it, just a great family day at the zoo which I am and was thankful for. Then Micah left for his trip. Saturday night, I stayed up until 2:00 in the morning waiting for Raider to get home safely after his prom. Then Sunday morning (Mother's Day) I had to wake up at 7 to get the kids ready for breakfast with my Mom. So, to start out the day I was already exhausted. Of course no one in my house really knew it was Mother's Day and Raider was way too tired and grumpy to even speak. Micah did call that morning to say Happy Mother's day but could only talk for a minute.

When we got to the restaurant, my Mom said Happy Mother's Day and asked how it was going with Micah gone - of course I started to cry. :( She didn't really notice and I just tried to hide it. Then my Mom asked Haylie what she got me for Mother's Day and she said: "nothing." Haylie said: "I'm sorry I didn't get you anything for Mother's Day Mommy." (Micah had bought a gift but the kids didn't know about it and unfortunately when we went to the zoo, Haylie missed the day they made the Mother's Day gifts at school) So then we had a somewhat chaotic breakfast with everyone and headed home. Micah was busy all day long and the kids didn't really remember you're supposed to take it easy on Mom for Mother's Day.

Somewhere around 2:00 Raider came in and dropped off a card that said: "To my wife on Mother's Day," with a note about a book coming in the mail. Inside the card it said - thanks for everything, Love, Micah. That was essentially the extent of the day other than the pity party I threw the rest of the afternoon. Micah was in meetings all day and couldn't really talk.

We went to Micah's parents house that evening for dinner and ice cream. I almost canceled but I wanted to be there to celebrate Micah's Mom. I was so glad I went - Micah's parents are so refreshing to be around and made my day so much better. I am so grateful for them all the time. What a great Mom to celebrate on Mother's day.

In the end it was definitely lame that Micah pretty much froze up and didn't do anything for Mother's Day (since he didn't know what to do being out of town and didn't really properly plan ahead of time). However, it's interesting to reflect and understand the expectations we put on others and ourselves. It helped me see the selfishness inside me. I know Micah didn't want to be on his trip and miss Mother's Day. And I know if he was here he would have done a great job with the festivities as he usually does. However, I was more concerned about myself than him. I pray that God continues to help me identify those areas where I put myself above others, especially my husband; and creates in me a clean heart and a new spirit that dies to myself a little more each day. I believe God has a lesson for us in each of the trials and tough days if we look for it. Here are some photos from the day...

Mom and James:

My sweet girl:

At this point Haylie took over the camera and this post could be changed to Mother's Day from Haylie's perspective:

At some point a fingerprint got on the lens and all pictures were a little blurry from then on:

Photos with Micah's parents:

So that's my sad, real story. No matter what I am thankful to be a Mom - I wouldn't trade it for the world - even if we were never rewarded or celebrated or thanked - even if there was no Mother's Day!